This is an analysis of the poem To James Boswell In London that begins with:

Boswell - you old rake - I have tried to imitate
your style; but it is no use; my dialogues are...

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: ababcd cdeaea fcfccf cfcfgXghXhfh iXiceecc
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 6,6,6,12,8,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: shakespearean sonnet
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: blank verse
  • Metre: 101111110101 111001111011 10111111111 110111011101 110000011001 1111010111 0100011011111 010101011010 0111001010101 010011010101 1001010100101 010101111111 101011111101 111011011110 10101011011 0011011101 110001111101 1111101110110 011101111101 111101011111 110101110111 111101010101 0100110101110 1001110111001 11010001100 101010001001 11101111010 101010010100 010110011001 100101100101 10100100111 0101111011111 010111010101 101011011101 011101010101 1010001010101 11101110011 111101010101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 375
  • Average number of words per stanza: 67
  • Amount of lines: 38
  • Average number of symbols per line: 49 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 9
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; i, your, he, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word the is repeated.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of To James Boswell In London;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Erica Jong